Right Arrow Emoji
A solid arrow pointing right, for direction, sequence and next steps.
Try Right Arrow emoji
Edit the text, then change the size.
Meaning & usage
What does the Right Arrow emoji mean?
A solid arrow pointing right, for direction, sequence and next steps.
Purely functional. It carries no feeling at all, which is exactly why it survives in workflows, comparisons and step-by-step notes where an emotive symbol would be a distraction.
How to use ➡️ naturally
Process steps, before-and-after notation and navigation hints.
Reaction symbols work like visual emphasis: they reinforce a word, rate an idea or replace a short response. Repetition normally increases intensity, but it can also make a message feel more performative.
From standard to slang
The history of ➡️
- 2010
First defined as emoji
According to Unicode’s Emoji Versions data, Right Arrow was first defined as emoji in Emoji 0.6, dated 2010. That label is retrospective: Unicode applied it later to the early mobile core it inherited from the Japanese carriers.
- Before the keyboard
Its visual roots
A solid arrow pointing right. It is an ordinary typographic arrow that predates emoji and still needs a variation selector to render in colour.
- Today
How its use evolved
Process steps, before-and-after notation and navigation hints.
Dates follow Unicode’s official Emoji Versions chart. Versions before Emoji 1.0 are labelled retrospectively. See the history of emoji.
In conversation
Examples of ➡️ in messages
These examples show the emoji in complete messages, where the words make its intended tone easier to read.
Draft ➡️ review ➡️ published
Take the second exit ➡️ then follow the signs
Old plan ➡️ new plan, same deadline
When to use it
Using ➡️ clearly
Process steps, before-and-after notation and navigation hints. It lands as right arrow emoji or ➡️ meaning when the rest of the message supports that reading, and it is the surrounding words that do the deciding — so in a sensitive, professional or cross-cultural conversation, say the thing outright as well.
Common questions
About the right arrow emoji
What does ➡️ mean in a text message?
A solid arrow pointing right, for direction, sequence and next steps. Purely functional. It carries no feeling at all, which is exactly why it survives in workflows, comparisons and step-by-step notes where an emotive symbol would be a distraction.
Is ➡️ always positive?
Not always. Its usual readings are right arrow emoji, ➡️ meaning, arrow emoji, and irony or the relationship between the people can flip any of them.
What does ➡️ mean from a girl or from a guy?
The same thing either way: A solid arrow pointing right, for direction, sequence and next steps. The sender's gender does not change what the character means. What does change it is how well you know each other, what the rest of the message says, and whether either of you is being ironic.
Why does ➡️ look different on another device?
U+27A1 U+FE0F identifies the emoji; the picture is a font, drawn separately by Apple, Google, Microsoft and Samsung. Only the artwork changes, never the character.
How do I copy and paste the right arrow emoji?
Use the copy button at the top of this page. ➡️ is a character, not an image, so it pastes into messages, captions and filenames as ordinary text.
When was the right arrow emoji introduced?
Unicode’s Emoji Versions data first records ➡️ as emoji in Emoji 0.6, dated 2010. Early emoji version numbers can be retrospective, so this date describes its place in the standardised emoji set rather than the first-ever appearance of the underlying symbol.
Easily confused
➡️ compared with similar emoji
These sit close enough in meaning that people reach for the wrong one. Here is what actually separates them.
Right Arrow or Left Arrow?
A deliberate pair. Used together ➡️ and ⬅️ show a two-way relationship; used alone ➡️ almost always means the next step.
Right Arrow or Counterclockwise Arrows Button?
➡️ moves forward once. 🔄 goes round again, so one advances a process and the other repeats it.
For developers
➡️ in code
Every value below is generated from the character itself, so it stays correct even where a file encoding cannot hold the emoji directly.
| Format | Value | When to use it | Copy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unicode | U+27A1 U+FE0F | The standard reference. Use it to search a character map or a spec. | |
| HTML (hex) | ➡️ | For HTML and XML. Safe in files that are not saved as UTF-8. | |
| HTML (decimal) | ➡️ | The same reference in decimal. Both render identically. | |
| CSS | \27A1 \FE0F | For the content property. Keep the quotes around the whole value. | |
| JavaScript | \u{27A1}\u{FE0F} | A string-literal escape. Needs the u flag inside a regular expression. | |
| URL-encoded | %E2%9E%A1%EF%B8%8F | Percent-encoded UTF-8, for query strings and API requests. |
Reference card
Emoji details
- Unicode
- U+27A1 U+FE0F
- Category
- Symbols & Reactions
- Also known as
- right arrow emoji➡️ meaningarrow emoji
Keep browsing